by Joe (son)
We went down to Ellsworth AFB this afternoon for some basketball and some groceries, but when we came back we were met by a potent problem: our fridge, and by default our freezer, was no longer working! Compounding the problem was that we made a big grocery run just a couple days ago, and we just picked up some frozen meat at the Commissary on base. Dad went to work troubleshooting the problem, and we think that the rain caused a circuit board to short-circuit and cause the fridge unit to shut down. Unfortunately, we don't have a time window for the replacement, so we entered upon a race to transfer everything to makeshift ice chests: also known as the Action Packer. Fortune smiled on us kids though: we got to eat every last bit of ice cream we'd just bought! by Joe (son)
We spent the majority of the 11th roaming Mount Rushmore (which is also a National Park). The sky was clear when we arrived, but it was beginning to sprinkle by the time we left. I was quite impressed by the sheer enormousness and clarity of the presidents enshrined in Rushmore. I was amazed that simple jackhammers and dynamite could produce such clear, well defined images. We all discovered in the course of completing the Junior Ranger program that the workers got so good with dynamite that they were able to blow rock away within inches of the final surface, and that they rarely missed and took too much. We also learned that the amazingly clear detailing was due to the use of the "pointing system", a technique developed by the ancient Egyptians that resembles a bar suspending a string that is attached to a compass, and that the small details were completed by a "bumper drill", aka a mini jackhammer with a finishing bit. We also saw one of the nine, 1-12 scale models used by Gutzon Borglum in the creation of Rushmore. We also ate lunch in the shadow of Mount Rushmore and hiked the Presidential Trail and learned all the "at a glimpse" stories of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt. We certainly enjoyed our time there! by Joe (son)
We devoted the 7th and 8th of July to wandering around in Yellowstone National Park. We did our best to get early starts in the mornings, and it payed off quite nicely (we even missed the 1200-1300 flood at Old Faithful!) We certainly enjoyed the park. After dropping in at Old Faithful, we roamed around the boardwalks and saw a really cool collection of hot springs and smaller geysers. All the crystal blues and golden reds created by bacteria and iron oxide deposits made for some really cool pictures (the iron oxide deposits looked like lava flows when filtered the right way). We were also lucky enough to catch Beehive Geyser (pictured above) erupt on the 7th. Beehive Geyser has an eruption window between 5 hours and 10 days, so we were very fortunate to catch it erupt (and we got a free shower too--Beehive is about 4 times as big as Old Faithful by my reckoning, so we all got drenched). The 8th featured a stop at Gibbon Falls and a nice hike along the South Rim Trail up to Artist Point and back. The falls and canyon, combined with well-placed overlooks, combined for some great views and pictures. The thing that really added excitement to the long drives though, was the wildlife. Our estimated tally came in at about 20 bison, 3 ospreys, a pair of bald eagles, 3 elk, a pronghorn, and, the highlight, a young grizzly bear! The grizz was really exciting to see, as we'd all been hoping to see one, and we caught it in the best of circumstances: driving in the car as it walked the other way. by Joe (dad)
We hiked and explored Teton National Park all day...I think the kids were most impressed, though, by stopping for pizza on the way home! Heading north out of Jackson Hole, WY you can't see the Tetons until you come around a bend and get past a smaller hilltop and all of a sudden THERE'S THE TETONS! We hiked to Phelps Lake and offered part of our rosary for the Phelps family that we know back home. We saw a Peregrine Falcon nest (the falcons were in the nest) on the way to the Tetons and we saw an eagle's nest during our hike, although we didn't actually see the eagles...but the massive nest was impressive. Joseph and Morgan earned their 10th Junior Ranger badges while the rest of the gang earned number 9. Mariana invested her allowance money in a Junior Ranger vest...somehow we got it off of her for bedtime (she's a little attached). We spent the 4th of July in the Star Valley of Wyoming (about 50 miles south of Jackson) at our campground and we all decorated our bikes to be in the parade around the campground. Had fun at the pool and enjoyed watermelon and bbq'd hamburgers and hot dogs while blasting some Toby Keith and Lee Greenwood patriotic tunes! by Joe (son) One of the things that coincides with this year long trip is learning. Considering that most of our learning will occur as we experience all these new things, it's only appropriate that we also learn to manage our money. In the first days of June, dad called a family meeting and laid down the guidelines and expectations that go with the allowance he was giving us. For most of us, it's the first time we've ever been given an allowance, so there have been a few slips when it comes to accounting and wise spending. We all have to keep track of the flow of money in and out of our "accounts" and prove to dad on allowance day that we have all the money our ledgers say we have. Thus far there have been no major issues, but some of us have learned to keep a closer eye on their ledgers and the numbers therein. by Morgan During this past week we had the opportunity to help make sandwiches for the hungry in Salt Lake City, UT. Me and mom got to put the mustard on the sandwiches and the rest got to put the meat and cheese on them. We made over 300 bagged lunches in about 3 hours. Making sandwiches was like all of us working at Subway and working together to help serve the needy. After making the sandwiches we got to help hand out the lunch bags at the window. |
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July 2015
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